Featured Issue: Representing Clients Before ICE
This resource page combines resources for attorneys representing clients before ICE. For information about why AILA is calling for the reduction and phasing out of immigration detention, please see our Featured Issue Page: Immigration Detention and Alternatives to Detention.
Quick Links
- Seeking Stays of Removal
- AILA Practice Pointers and Alerts (continually updated)
- Practice Advisory: Representing Detained Clients in the Virtual Landscape
- Practice Pointer: How to Locate Clients Apprehended by ICE
- Practice Pointer: Preparing for an Order of Supervision Appointment with ICE-ERO
- AILA ICE Liaison Agenda and Meeting Minutes
Communicating with OPLA, ERO, and CROs
The Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) includes 1300 attorneys who represent the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in immigration removal proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). OPLA litigates all removal cases as well as provides legal counsel to ICE personnel. At present, there are 25 field locations throughout the United States.
Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) manages all aspects of immigration enforcement from arrest, detention, and removal. ERO has 24 field office locations. ERO also manages an “alternative to detention” program that relies almost exclusively on the “Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP)” to monitor individuals in removal proceedings.
Since 2016, ICE has had an Office of Partnership and Engagement (formerly Office of Community Engagement) to be a link between the agency and stakeholders. As part of this office, Community Relations Officers (CROS) are assigned to every field office to work with local stakeholders such as attorneys and nonprofit organizations.
*Headquarters does not provide direct contact numbers or emails for individual employees.* (AILA Liaison Meeting with ICE on April 26, 2023)(AILA Doc. No. 23033004). However, attorneys can contact Chapter Local ICE Liaisons as they may have this information provided to them via local liaison engagement.
- DHS/ICE/OPLA Chief Counsel Contact Information [last updated in 2024, this list no longer appears on ICE.gov as of 1/27/25]
- Contact Information for Local OPLA Offices [last updated in 2024, this information no longer appears on ICE.gov as of 1/27/25]
- ERO Field Offices Contact Information*
- OPE Community Relations Officers
- ICE Check-In Scheduling Website
- ICE Online Change of Address Website
Latest on Enforcement Priorities & Prosecutorial Discretion
Executive Order 14159 (90 FR 8443, 1/29/25) directs DHS to set priorities that protect the public safety and national security interests of the American people, including by ensuring the successful enforcement of final orders of removal, enforcement of the INA and other Federal laws related to the illegal entry and unlawful presence of [noncitizens] in the United States and the enforcement of the purposes of this order. Given the January 25, 2025, confirmation of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, a memorandum detailing enforcement priorities may be issued in the coming weeks.
An unpublished ICE memo from acting ICE Director Caleb Vitello entitled “Interim Guidance: Civil Immigration Enforcement Actions in or near Courthouses” makes reference to targeted noncitizens and includes:
- National security or public safety threats;
- Those with criminal convictions;
- Gang members;
- Those who have been ordered removed from the United States but have failed to depart; and/or
- Those who have re-entered the country illegally after being removed.
Procedures and email inboxes created under the Biden Administration to request Prosecutorial Discretion no longer appear on the ICE website. AILA members are encouraged to review current DOJ regulations entitled “Efficient Case and Docket Management in Immigration Proceedings” for alternative basis for seeking termination or administrative closure.
Access to Counsel
- ERO eFile:
- An online system developed to electronically file G-28s with ERO. Attorneys and accredited representatives may register for ERO eFile accounts and may also sponsor law students and law graduates who work under their supervision. See AILA’s practice alert (AILA Doc. No. 24051506) for more information.
- ICE Attorney Information and Resources Page
- AILA Practice Alert: Updates to the ICE Attorney Information and Resource Page
Filing Administrative Complaints on Behalf of Detained and Formerly Detained Clients
- Online Intake Form for the Detention Ombudsman (myOIDO)
- Available for complaints for issues in ICE and CBP Custody nationwide, including to submit complaints about access to counsel problems on behalf of currently or previously detained clients.
- Online Complaint Form for DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL)
- Oversight of Immigration Detention: An Overview - May 16, 2022
(provides a list of agencies with which attorneys may file administrative complaints of detention center violations) - Immigration Judge Complaint Toolkit – August 31, 2022
- Practice Alert: Template for CRCL Complaint Regarding Failures to Provide Language Access – July 16, 2021
Selected ICE Policies and Current Status
For comprehensive comparison of current and prior ICE policies, please review the “Immigration Policy Tracker (IPTP).” The IPTP is a project of Professor Lucas Guttentag working with teams of Stanford and Yale law students and leading national immigration experts.
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Browse the Featured Issue: Representing Clients Before ICE collection
CA3 on Post-AEDPA Federal Court Jurisdiction
The court held that AEDPA and other 1996 immigration amendments did not remove the federal district court's jurisdiction to review deportation orders for violations of statutory or constitutional rights. (Sandoval v. Reno, 1/26/99)
BIA Provides Framework for IJ Summary Decisions
The BIA held that a summary decision under 8 CFR §240.12(b) may properly be issued by an IJ in removal proceedings in lieu of an oral or written decision only when the respondent has expressly admitted to both the factual allegations and the charges of removability. (Matter of A-P-, 1/26/99)
BIA on "Particularly Serious Crime" Determination
The BIA held that first degree armed robbery of an occupied home, where the sentence imposed was 55 months imprisonment, is a "particularly serious crime" rendering the alien ineligible for withholding. (Matter of S-S-, 1/21/99)
VSC Approves VAWA-Based I-360
The Vermont Service Center approved a special immigrant petition based on the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), finding that the petitioner still met the good moral character requirement despite a petit larceny conviction.
EOIR Memo on Faxing Policy Between INS, Guam, and Honolulu Immigration Court
EOIR memorandum 99-3 provides the facsimile policy between INS, Guam and Honolulu, HI due to an increase in issuance of charging documents. Faxes are only allowed between INS, Guam, and Honolulu and Guam INS is required to mail the original charging document within ten days of the faxed documents.
CA1 Finds No Nexus in Algerian Asylum Claim
The court found that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s determination that Petitioner failed to prove past persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution in Algeria on one of the grounds enumerated in the statute. (Debab v. INS, 12/22/98)
CA7 Says AEDPA 440(a) Permits Direct Review of Consitutional Claims
The court held that direct review remains available under AEDPA section 440(a) for aliens wishing to challenge their deportation on constitutional grounds. (LaGuerre v. Reno, 12/22/98)
Human Rights Watch Report on Detention of Unaccompanied Minors
A 12/22/98 Human Rights Watch report finds that the INS violated the rights of unaccompanied children in its custody.
BIA Finds Alaska First Degree Arson Is an Aggravated Felony
The BIA held that the alien's conviction for first degree arson in Alaska, where he was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment with 3 years suspended is a crime of violence, and therefore, an aggravated felony. (Matter of Palacios-Pinera, 12/18/98)
BIA on 241(a)(1)(H) Waivers
In making the discretionary determination on a waiver of deportability under INA 241(a)(1)(H), the Immigration Judge should consider the alien's initial fraud or misrepresentation in the overall assessment of positive and negative factors. (Matter of Tijam, 12/10/98)
EOIR Memo on Administrative Closure for LPRs in Removal Proceedings
A 12/9/98 EOIR memo from Michael Creppy, Chief Judge, regarding administrative closure of case in which an applicant is eligible for cancellation of removal for LPRs in removal proceedings.
EOIR OPPM 98-8: Cancellation of Outdated Operating Policies and Procedures Memoranda
EOIR issues OPPM 98-8, which cancels the following outdated OPPMs: 83-1, 86-9, 87-3, 87-4, 88-2, 89-3, 90-3, 90-6, 92-3, 94-3, and 94-4.
EOIR OPPM 98-9: Administrative Control List and Posting Procedures
EOIR issued OPPM 98-9, which clarifies that the association of INS field offices with an immigration court in the Administrative Control List is provided only as a general guide about where INS may file charging documents. Memo also establishes posting procedures for said list. Supersedes OPPM 87-2.
BIA Says No 212(h) Waiver Where LPR Status Obtained by Fraud
The BIA held that a 212(h) waiver is not available to an alien who was previously admitted for permanent residence but claims that such admission was not lawful because he concealed criminal activities that, if known, would have precluded his admission. (Matter of Ayala-Arevalo, 11/30/98)
BIA Reverses IJ, Finds Respondents Eligible for Suspension of Deportation
In a non-precedent decision, the BIA concluded that the respondents would suffer extreme hardship if deported to the Philippines, noting that they have developed significant economic, familial, and cultural ties to the U.S. (Matter of Abriam, 11/30/98)
INS/EOIR Proposed Rule on Suspension of Deportation and Special Rule Cancellation for NACARA
INS/EOIR proposed rule offering certain beneficiaries of the NACARA who currently have asylum applications pending and their qualified dependents, the option of applying to the INS for suspension of deportation or cancellation of removal under NACARA. Comments due by 1/25/99. (63 FR 64895, 11/24/98)
District Court Remands for 212(c) Determination Post-AEDPA
The court remanded the case to the BIA for a determination on the merits of Petitioner's 212(c) application where it was undisputed that he had made known to the INS his intention of filing for relief prior to the enactment of AEDPA §440(d). (Almonte v. Reno, 11/19/98)
INS Extends Temporary Suspension of Removals for Central Americans Through January 7
The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) announces today that it will extend through January 7, 1999, the temporary suspension of removals in effect for aliens from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
EOIR OPPM 98-7: Management of the Institutional Hearing Program
EOIR issues OPPM 98-7: Management of the Institutional Hearing Program, which supersedes OPPM 94-7, dated July 18, 1994, and establishes the management and supervision policies of the Institutional Hearing Program (IHP).
AILA Comments on BIA Streamlining
AILA and AILF submitted comments to the proposed regulation EOIR No. 122P, AG 2177-98, 63 Federal Register 49043 (September 14, 1998). This regulation purports to streamline the review of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) of certain decisions.
Court Remands After Finding AEDPA §440(d) Impermissibly Retroactive
The court remanded the case to the BIA for a discretionary determination on the merits of Petitioner's application for relief under §212(c) after concluding that AEDPA §440(d) was impermissibly retroactive as applied to Petitioner. (Ranglin v. INS, 11/12/98)
EOIR Liaison Report (11/5/98)
Report from the AILA/EOIR liaison meeting which was held on November 5, 1998.
BIA on Aggravated Felonies
The BIA held that an alien convicted of an aggravated felony is subject to deportation regardless of the date of the conviction when he is placed in deportation proceedings on or after March 1, 1991, and the crime falls within the aggravated felony definition. (Matter of Lettman, 11/5/98)
BIA on In Absentia Motions to Reopen
The BIA held that where an alien did not receive oral warnings of the consequences of failing to appear and moves to reopen to apply for relief that was unavailable at the time of the hearing, the regulatory requirements under 8 CFR §§3.2(c) and 3.23(b)(3) apply. (Matter of M-S-, 10/30/98)
BIA Finds No Compelling Reasons to Grant Asylum Where Conditions Changed in Afghanistan
The BIA found that the applicant failed to establish compelling reasons for being unwilling to return to Afghanistan where he suffered beatings during a month-long detention and the disappearance and likely death of his father. (Matter of N-M-A-, 10/21/98)